I’m just off to India, where I do not expect to conduct an in-depth study of the Indian tax system, explains Simon Sweetman.
I was just reflecting that, as Robert Earl Keen says, it’s the little things that piss me off… in no particular order:
- Large companies that seek to justify their low corporation tax bills by pointing out how much
- NIC/PAYE/VAT they pay, when they merely collect it from someone else and pass it on
- Scare advertising, whether by HMRC (Big Brother is watching you) or by expensive tax firms (Big Brother is watching you but we can help for lots of money)
- Businesses that won’t pay a living wage and leave tax credits to top up their employees’ wages: a business that can’t pay a living wage is not a viable business
- Politicians who call on HMRC to get tough but won’t give them the legislative tools or the manpower to do it
- Politicians who wax self-righteous about tax avoidance but don’t mention their own family arrangements
- People who get self-righteous about tax avoidance and then pay tradesmen in cash to avoid the VAT
- IR35. Everything about it HMRC messing up the proposals from the OTS for cash accounting for small business so as to make them unworkable
- The absurd “non-dom” income tax rules that make the UK a tax haven for billionaires
- The man in the pub – the one who tells your clients how his accountant saves him so much tax
And who have I left out?
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Replies (11)
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11...
The celebrity who defends his choice of 'tax scheme' on the basis that his accountant suggested it....(and of course people do everything their accountant suggests...)
Thanks (0)12
Politicians who have no incentive to improve matters because they (their mates, their contacts, and their families) are benefiting from all the dodging, ducking & diving.
Their solution seems to be that as the others can't be made to pay tax, then the burden can be transferred to those who cannot avoid tax (the easy target), eg. employees and those wealthy people with big houses!
Thanks (0)At the moment ...
... ironically #13
Roman Abramovitch - FFS Benitez!!!! was he all that was available? (sod tax, football is much more important!).
14 - people who think £50k per year means you are rich and should pay a higher rate of tax
15 - people who think just because your house has a paper value of >£1m you must be rolling in spare cash and should pay more tax (sorry, just picked up Shirleys sarcasm!)
16 - people who drive BMW's ( as far as I am concerned is means b****y minded yes well!) I got a pot 30 years ago to put £1 in every time one gave way to me in a 50/50 situation, the only thing ever in it is about an inch of dust, I don't think I would have done much better with 100/0 in my favour!
17 - people who think the company bank account is theirs and they can draw from it when they like and not pay any tax.
18 - people who get made redundant from big company/civil service culture and start their own company and are too thick to understand there is no point fiddling their petty cash expenses or nicking the stationery!
19 - I think "Politicians" and stop there!
20 - TV licensing, both in principal and the sledge hammer approach to non payment (especially to those who have no TV!).
Thanks (0)Can I add a few more
21. (Continuing from Old Greying Accountants post) Manchester United, the club, it’s fans, it’s players, and anything even vaguely associated with it.
22. Simon Cowell (well someone had to mention him)
23. People who expect BMW drivers to give way (you should know better).
24. Call centres.
24. Automated telephone answering systems that say “your call is important to us”.- Liars.
25. Scotland. I’ll never forgive them for giving us Gordon Brown.
26. Senior HMRC staff who use tax avoidance whilst berating others for doing exactly the same thing.
Thanks (0)You mean ...
... London ;o) ?
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The fantasy that man utd are the only club that attract supporters outside a 20 mile perimeter of the stadium, always brings a smile to my face. I was a teen on the 80s, the only club in town was Liverpool, and every other kid owned a Liverpool top....think it was something to do with their success. Of course it is even more amusing that the clubs who have only 'local support' are happy to accept being owned by individuals from far away....
Thanks (0)And more
27 Politicians who think that it is immoral merely to abide by the rules, except so far as politicians are concerned.
28 Public sector employees who berate greedy shareholders, but are themselves those very greedy (beneficial) shareholders when it comes to their excessive pensions (and whose beneficial shareholdings probably voted for the RBS and LTSB takeovers.
29 Those who believe that morality stretches to contributing to the Exchequer and turn a blind eye to wasting what's been collected.
Thanks (0)Spot on
I have always said if more attention was paid to what went out, we would not need to put as much in.
I am safe in the knowledge that if you discount Fulham (and people always seem to) Chelsea are my nearest premiership side (I ignore QPR as that is likely to be a blip - now there's a thought Roberto!)
Thanks (0)Chelsea
The only club to have a revolving door on the managers office :)
Thanks (0)Phone calls
30 Unsolicited phone calls (at least 3 every day) from the PPI claims recovery industry. This is despite being on the BT Telephone preference service
31 Huge pay offs to executives who were well paid in the first place
Thanks (0)Politicians who...
32 bluster about tax avoidance/planning/mitigation being horribly wrong even if the rules allow it whilst at the same time defending their expense claims for barely lived in second homes etc on the basis that the rules allow it!
Thanks (0)